Monster Hunter: World introduces a living, breathing ecosystem in which players take on the role of a hunter that seeks and slays ferocious beasts in heart-pounding battles that unfold across the vast ever-changing terrain. Venture on quests alone or with up to three hunters in a newly designed online drop-in multiplayer system which allows cross-region cooperative play between Japan and the west, uniting the player base for the first time ever.

Retaining the series’ skill based progression and robust crafting system, players gear up to venture on quests to seek and slay monsters, progressively improving their skills to become the ultimate hunter. Loot collected from fallen foes can be used to create new equipment and armor upgrades styled after the monsters they’ve slain, allowing hunters to survive the elements and defeat the tougher opponents that await them.

Monster Hunter: World delivers a seamless gameplay experience allowing players to move freely across map areas that comprise the living ecosystems and dynamically transition from day to night. The landscape and its diverse inhabitants play a critical 6role in each quest as players strategically use the surrounding environment including terrain, vegetation and wildlife to their advantage in battle or become hindered by the hazards they present. Hunters must use their cunning and abilities to track and maneuver their targets throughout the intense, evolving battles.

The first free title update for the acclaimed Monster Hunter World: Iceborne expansion is now available, keeping the Monster Hunter tradition of robust post-launch support and extending the end-game content even further. The free update offers more challenging options for players to conquer including the ferocious fan-favorite Rajang, more tempered monsters, a whole new region for the end-game Guiding Lands area, and more.

Rajang
The centerpiece of the first update is the fearsome Rajang, the thunderous fan-favorite monster that offers a challenge for even the most seasoned hunters. This hyper-aggressive fanged beast turns into a golden ball of fury when enraged, unleashing even more lethal attacks as its powerful arms deal incredible damage in one swoop. However, defeating and utilizing its parts yields equally incredible equipment, including golden and black palette armor with high offensive skills.

The Guiding Lands
Finishing all the quests in the Iceborne story is just the beginning, as hunters are rewarded with even more robust end-game content in the Guiding Lands. This end-game locale opens up several biomes with landscapes and traits reminiscent of the maps from the main game, featuring more challenges, monsters and amazing rewards. By investigating and hunting monsters in each of the biomes, the higher the Region Level of that location becomes, the difficulty and quality of rewards increases. Materials from these quests offer customization options for weapons in both function and appearance. Also, certain monsters like Zinogre only appear in the Guiding Lands once a certain Region Level has been reached.

As part of the first update, a brand new volcanic biome has been added to the Guiding Lands and becomes accessible once players have started the special assignment quest to battle the aforementioned Rajang. In addition to Rajang, new tempered monsters are also being added to challenge hunters – Tempered Gold Rathian and Tempered Silver Rathalos. As an added incentive to take on these expert level battles, materials gathered from the Guiding Lands can also be used to craft layered armor for some of the Monster Hunter: World gear for players that are fond of the aesthetics of the earlier gear. Additionally, this title update includes gameplay adjustments within the Guiding Lands based on player feedback.

Your Room updates
The first update also brings the ability to visit other players’ rooms, so hunters can check out how others have decked out their abodes. Paid DLC options for decorations have also been added for those that wish to spruce up their place even more for guests.

Future updates
The first title update is just the beginning. As with previous series iterations, Iceborne will continue with more free updates with the next one planned for November. This will include a collaboration featuring popular survival horror icons Leon, Claire and Tyrant, along with the special quests for the winning entries of the weapon and Palico equipment design contest for players to craft. For PlayStation®4 players, the first round of an exclusive Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds collaboration will become available, giving players a chance to craft a Light Bowgun designed as Aloy’s Stormslinger.

December will continue with a new yet to be revealed monster and the return of Monster Hunter’s seasonal fests, which will be held in both Astera’s and Seliana’s Gathering Hub for all players to enjoy. Additionally, for PS4 players, the second round of an exclusive Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds collaboration will be available as part of this update to craft a full armor set fashioned after the Shield-Weaver armor in Horizon Zero Dawn™, quests to craft new Palico equipment and upgrade the Stormslinger, plus a quest to craft the new Banuk armor set. There will also be quests to upgrade Aloy’s Bow and the Felyne Watcher equipment that were available in MH: World.

More updates are planned for 2020 with information to be shared later.

With flexible online multiplayer options and an accessible quest structure, players can tackle challenges alone or join up to three other hunters online for cooperative play. For the first time in the Monster Hunter series, players from Japan and the west can play together online, providing an expanded base of cooperative hunting companions. With the new online drop-in functionality, solo players can hail for assistance from the worldwide group during quests when their opponents are too daunting to take on single-handedly.

Monster Hunter: World is currently available for PS4, Xbox One and PC, while the Iceborne expansion is available on PS4 and Xbox One, with a PC release to follow in January 2020.